1996 Chevy Cavalier valves rattle

1996 CHEVROLET CAVALIER
150,268 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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ELBERT PERKEY
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idles good---- valves rattle when you put a load on engine as if timing is too fast.
as you know timing is controled by pcm.
Dec 10, 2009 at 10:22 PM
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MMPRINCE4000
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It would either be a crank/cam sensor, possible excessive carbon build up in combustion chamber or the PCM.

I would fill it up with a tank of preminum, if pinging goes away, then look at above.

Fastest way to check the PCM is to hook up to scan tool in live data and see how many degrees of advance the PCM is commanding.

This could also be a knock sensor malfunction.

In any case, prolonged pinging will damage engine.
Dec 11, 2009 at 8:27 AM